Abenomics Is Working: Japanese Households On Welfare Rise To Record

Just in case the legacy of Abenomics wasn’t clear enough (it should have been after we reported that its legacy is “Japan’s Greatest “Misery” In 33 Years“), here is another confirmation that in the New Normal, only bad things happen when you forget to BTFD.

The number of households on welfare in Japan hit a record high of 1,603,093 in May, up 2,852 from the previous month, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said on Wednesday. The rise came as a growing number of single-person elderly households, or people aged 65 or older who are living alone, became recipients, ministry officials said.

According to the ministry’s May survey, 751,363 families, or 47.1 percent of the total recipient households, comprised only the elderly or the elderly plus unmarried members younger than 18.

Elderly households on welfare increased, but fewer families without fathers or with sick or disabled members received benefits, the officials said.

Of course, if you ask any Keynesian, record households on welfare is nothing more than pent up record trillionaires (if only in devalued currency terms, but who cares about specifics).